Storage battery



N. D. STURGES. STORAGE BATTERY. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 27, 1920.

Patented May 18, 1920.

WW gtwgguewtoz 3&1 G T/[30cm S To all uihom it concern:

v UNITED STATE ATE FI NORMAN nnirrna srunens, or ounmvs, NEW YonK, Assnmon 'ro MULTIPLE STORAGE BATTERY comm, a conrona'rron or NEW Yan s'romon BATTERY.-

Be it known that I, NORMAN DEXTER 'STURGES, a citizen ofthe United States, residing-at Bellerose Queens P. 0., in the county of Queens, State of New York, have invented certain new and usefullinproveinents in Storage Batteries; and I do hereby storage batteries and has for its object the provision of an improved binder for the plates which is compact, inexpensive and easily applied; and which, because of the elastlc property and. tensile strength of the material employed, is admirably adapted to hold the plates securely and firmly in proper relation within the battery cell.

Further objects and advantages of the invention willbe a parent as it is better un-.

derstood by re erence to the following specification and accompanying drawing, in

which- 1 Fi re 1 is an end elevation of a plate as- .semb y illustrating the application of my invention; and

' Fig. 2, is a view in perspective of the band employed inbinding the plates.

Heretofore it has been customary to bind the plates of a storage biatterygcell with an or y means 0 stout: elastic rubber hard rubber rectangles into which the bundle of plates is forced, keyed or otherwise fastened; or hard rubber rods with threaded ends are provided to fit holes or lugs in the battery plates and a tie bar is secured to the rods toclamp the ates.

The expedients mentioned have not, how

ever, proved to be entirely satisfactory.

. Elastic rubber bands do not bind the plates replaced from time to time.

hand, hard rubber binders and rods have no securely and they may, therefore, be deranged, thereby decreasing the efficiency and life of the battery, The bands deteriorate rapidly and must, therefore, 'be On the other elasticity and when the wood separators swell in the battery solution, the binders are frequently ruptured. Hard rubber binders are bulk-y and consequently'.reduce' the ca-' pacity per unit volumebf the battery. Since the plates and binders are immersed in a Specification of Letters Patent. Appueation ilefl February, 1920. Serial No. 361,887.

Patented May 18, 1920.

sulfuric acid solution, the binder-employed must resist attack by the acid and few materials are, therefore, available.

I have discovered that a superior binder for battery plates may be made from celluloid. This material has heretofore been employed .in: batteries and its powerto resist corrosion by sulfuric acid is known. So far as I am aware, however, binders for battery plates have never previously been made from celluloid. In addition to its acid resistant character, celluloid has other properties which make it especially adaptable for a plate binder in storage batteries. Celluloid has a high tensile strength so that a binder made therefrom may be compact and yet,sufficiently strong to hold the plates securely. Furthermore, celluloid possesses exactly the requisite elasticity to permit the wood separators to expand whenwet without rupture. The plates cannot, however, become loose because of the elasticity of the binder- These. several properties of celluloid, when combined in a binder of the form hereinafter described, assure a most efficient means of securing the plates and consequently improve the character and efiiciency of the battery.

Preferably the binder consistsof an endless band of celluloid which may, for example, be one-half-inch in width and one-thirtysecond of an inch in thickness although obviously thedimensions may be varied to meet particular conditions of application. 'Advantageously, such a band may be cut from a rectangular tube of the required'di- 'mensions' which is readily formed by extruding the material according to methods well understood in the art. The band may, of course, be made from a strip, the ends of which are secured together with a cement, or in any, other suitable manner. The band thus formed is slipped over. the plate assembl which is then ready for use.

Re erring to the drawing in. which the preferred form of my invention is illustrated,"5 indicates the plates and 6 thewood separators, the assembly being arranged within a suitable container 7 and supported, ,l

for example, on a single rib 8 as described zin my copending application Serial No.

361,888. It is to be understood that the dc tails of the \plates and separators form no part of my present invention which is applicable to any of the: well known types of storagebatteries in which binders for the plates are employed. my present invention is particularly advantageous when employed in connectionwith the container having a single rib described in my above mentioned application, it may be employed with containers of any usual or well known form.

The plates 5 and separators 6 are arranged alternately, or the separators may take the form of frames which support and spaceture, is a material im rovenient in storage.-

battery construction. he advantages enumerated are, moreover, provided at a relatively slight expense and with a reduction of the space required in the container to accommodate the fastening means.

Obviously the dimensions and form of the binder maybe varied without departing Furthermore, while rupturedy In testimoilly whereof I airix m signature.

from thezinvention or sacrificing any of the advantagesthereof.

I claim: i

1. An improved binder for storage battery plates comprising a band of celluloid adapted to encircle the plates and having suflicient elasticity to, permit expansion without being ruptured.

2. An improved binder for storage battery plates comprising an endless band of celluloid cut from a tube thereof and adapted to encircle the plates.

3. An improved binder for storage battery plates comprising a flat endless band of celluloid adapted to encircle the plates, having suflicient strength to hold the plates firmly and elasticity 'to'perniit expansion without being ruptured. 1 4. A storage battery comprising a series of plates and spacers therefor immersed in an electrolyte and a band-of celluloid encir-.

cling and holding said plates in assembled .relation.

5. A storage battery comprising a series of plates and spacers therefor immersed in an electrolyte and an endless band of celluloidencircling andholding said plates in assembled relation and having su'flicient elasticity to pernnt expansion without being NOR AN DEXTER S URGES. 

